“For you to stop calling me ‘Princess’.”
I chuckled. “What do you want me to call you, then?”
With a shrug, she mumbled, “Just Gray.”
“Okay then, Just Gray.” The deadpan expression she leveled me with had me easing closer to her icy flames.
“What are you doing?” she asked, leaning away as if I would attack her at any moment.
I stopped, dropping my playful banter. “Hey,” I said softly. “You’re safe with me. You have no reason to trust me, but I will never harm you. If anything, I’ll protect you with my life.”
Gray’s jaw clenched tight, and her nostrils flared as she pushed down the emotion working its way across her face. She sniffled and forced her gaze back to the buildings ahead. I wanted to tug her arms free from the tight embrace she wrapped around herself.
Gray looked at me and then lowered her chin, staring at the grey leggings she wore. “Oh,” she said, voice dejected. “Because I’m the princess, and you have to.” She cleared her throat. “Ofcourse.” The princess fixed her eyes on the buildings ahead of us, her frigid mask sliding firmly back into place.
Without thinking, I reached my hand out to grab hold of hers, startling her, but I couldn’t stop myself. “Not because you’re the princess, but because you’re you.” My voice dropped a few tones lower, almost to a whisper, as her hurricane eyes desperately searched mine.
The princess’s brows tucked inward as her mouth twisted at the sides. With a shake of her head and a strong exhale, she said, “But why?”
“Because…you deserve that at the bare minimum,” I said, withholding what I really wanted to say and felt.
“You don’t even know me.”
“I think…” I started, picking her palm up and holding it within mine, meeting her fearful eyes, “you’ll find that you and I are much more similar than you’d believe.”
Gray’s breath hitched in her throat before she glanced down at our connected palms, her stare lingering in shock, yet she didn’t retreat.
I gave her hand a light squeeze for reassurance. “I’ll keep you safe.”
A sudden burst of affection slammed into my heart and snatched the invisible cord attached. Gratitude burrowed in the depths of her soul, twined around the cord connecting us and fused into the tissues of my heart. An energy that didn’t belong to either of us drew us closer to one another.
Gray’s pupils expanded as she held my gaze, and I leaned in, my free hand cupping her jaw.
I couldn’t tear my eyes from her full lips, especially when the bottom one was sucked between her teeth. “Is it…okay if…” I whispered, captivated, dragging my fixation to meet her eyes, “if I kiss you right now?”
The princess hesitated, her posture tight, but her eyes swelled with emotion as her bottom lip quivered. “Yes,” she breathed.
“You sure?” The force preventing me from crushing my lips to hers had me vibrating with unsteady restraint, but I needed to be sure. This beautifully broken girl didn’t need any extra shards embedded in her open wounds. Especially by my hands.
With a quick nod and a rough exhale, she grabbed the back of my neck, and my lips landed on hers before I knew what was happening. Gray robbed me of air, and I gave it to her freely. My heart battered a thundering riot to a primitive rhythm, threatening to shatter me into ashes. I cradled her cheeks in my palms and slid my tongue along her bottom lip ever so softly, tumbling deeper into her enchanting flames.
A surprised squeak escaped her throat, prompting movement in my pants. I suppressed the urge to groan. Just as I captured her bottom lip, a throat cleared nearby, making me leap backward, putting space between us.
“Well, then, that lasted about as long as I thought it would,” a familiar voice sounded from behind me. I spun on the ledge of the building.
Valik’s smug smile greeted me, his head angled to the side as he studied us with amusement sparkling in his jade eyes. “Well, don’t stop on my behalf…” He waved his hand lazily toward us. “I can wait. Continue like the horny little teenagers you are. Not like the world depends on you or anything.”
Chapter 16
Chrome
Gray sprang to her feet from the ledge of the building back onto the rooftop, her eyes wide and her terror infiltrating my soul like a poison. I did my best to ignore it and focus on Valik, but her fear was too powerful. It confused me, making me think it was my own.
I focused on the unusual man before us. Whatwashe?
“Where did you come from?” I asked, summoning a dagger, the blade illuminating blue.
Valik’s eyes drifted down to my weapon, his smirk spreading into a wider smile. “Oh, fun.”
